Energizer introduces thin, powerful Zinc Air Prismatic battery

Energizer hasn't exactly been keeping this one much of a secret, but the battery maker has now finally gotten official with its much-vaunted Zinc Air Prismatic battery technology, which it says will allow electronics manufacturers to make devices that last longer and are smaller and lighters. The batteries themselves make use of the same zinc air technology used in hearing aid batteries, and apparently have the highest energy density of any portable consumer power solution, which translates to about three times the runtime of a similarly sized alkaline or lithium ion battery. What's more, Energizer says that the zinc air batteries offer a "much lower cost" for OEMs compared to lithium ion batteries, which comes at least in part from the elimination of the need for charge circuitry and a charging device. Of course, the batteries are still quite a ways from finding their way into some actual products, but Energizer will apparently be trying to speed things up a bit by holding design seminars for OEMs throughout 2009.